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How to Rip a DVD
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While ripping CDs is a common activity performed by many software programs, even
many advanced computer users don't know how to rip a DVD. Ripping DVDs
(geek-speak for copying onto your PC's hard-drive) is good for making a backup
of their content, or watching them on your PC. |
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Generic Instructions
- Determine that you, in fact, have the rights to copy the DVD for
your own personal use. It is not legal to copy DVD's for any and all
purposes.
- Obtain a DVD ripping program. Oddly, this is a bit easier said than
done. Legal threats have deterred some of the larger software companies
from distributing DVD ripping software. Thus the only software you will
find will be from companies you may not have heard of. Google "DVD
ripping software" for a list of options.
- Launch the DVD ripping program on your computer. This is any program
that can read DVD format, extract the digital information, then encode
it into a file format that is readable on your personal computer.
- Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and follow the
instructions.
Using DVD Decrypter, for PC
-
Find a copy of DVD Decrypter, a free program that rips DVDs.
Macrovision has recently acquired the rights to the DVD Decrypter
program, and has since stopped distributing this program. Thus DVD
Decrypter is no longer easily available. See
How to Find a Copy of DVD Decrypter for suggestions on downloading
it.
- Install and Open DVDDecrypter.
- Insert a DVD to be ripped into your PC's DVD drive.
- Ensure that you have sufficient free space on your hard drive to
store the DVD. Many DVDs contain 6-8 GB of files.
- Open the DVD Decrypter program
- Ensure the correct optical (DVD) drive is selected on the source
pull-down menu.
- Set the correct file destination. Under the title Destination, it
should say Please Select a Folder. If you click on the folder icon to
the right of this phrase (see mouse arrow in image below), you will get
a standard Windows menu to select a destination folder.
- Click on the start icon (see image below) to begin the ripping. You
will be updated on the progress. It could take 10-15 minutes to rip your
DVD (actual time depends on the speed of your DVD drive).
- You now have the DVD unencrypted in a folder on your hard drive.
Using VLC Media Player
- Click File, then Open Disc, then select DVD (not with "menus">.
- Go to Disc tab and locate which Title contains the full length
movie.
- Select Stream/Save from Options.
- Click Settings.
- Select File, then browse to open dialog and type in the name of the
file you want to save as.
- Select the Encapsulation Method, such as MP4. ASF, WAV and RAW are
not recommended.
- Select Video Code (such as DIV3), Bitrate (such as 1024), Audio
Codec (such as MP3), Bitrate (such as 192).
- Uncheck Play Locally for faster processing.
- Click OK.
- Click OK.
- Wait. Ripping a full length movie can take a very long time (such as
2 hours)
Tips
- If you want to burn the ripped DVD to a fresh 4.7 GB DVD, often you
will need to shrink it first, as original DVDs usually contain more than
4.7 GB of data. Use the excellent freeware program DVD Shrink for this.
It can produce a ripped DVD directory that fits on a 4.7 GB disk,
without discernable change in image or sound quality. See
How to Burn DVDs on a PC.
- The ripping process could produce a dozen or more individual files,
so it's often best to create a new folder on your hard drive for each
DVD.
- If you are using a Mac, use a software like Handbrake that will make
it easier to rip a DVD. It will let you rip the DVD in any format (like
for iPod or iPhone: MPEG-4). It creates one individual file on your Mac
and saves it to your desktop, so there or no worries about having
multiple files.
Warnings
- Understand copyright laws in your country before ripping any
copyrighted DVDs.
- Understand that in the US the laws are unclear and conflicting, you
might be able to rip a copy of copyrighted material for your own use
under the concept of Fair Use. However, circumventing DRM may be illegal
in and of itself, regardless of ownership of the IP or intent after
disabling the DRM method. Read up on the
DMCA and then contact your congressman!
- Do not promote or partake in piracy. Although there is some dubiety
over whether it is legal to copy DVDs for your own use, making
copyrighted DVDs available in the public realm is against the law
Things You'll Need
- A DVD you want to copy.
- A DVD Player
- DVD ripping software
- Free space on your hard drive.
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